As a part of our English Literature GCSE we, the year 11, have studied J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ and we had the opportunity to watch the director’s Stephen Daldry’s award winning and visionary revival of the classic chiller this Wednesday, 30th of September 2009, during its return at Novello Theatre in London.The beginning of the play was astonishing. A few little children wearing 1912 clothes tried to open the curtains and played a few games while the Birling family and Gerald Croft were celebrating Sheila’s (Marianne Oldham) engagement in the small house upstage. The idea of the dollhouse suggests a world, their own world- a crystal ball which separated them from the rest of the world. The way in which Inspector Goole ( Nicolas Woodeson) made the characters come down to him one by one represents the idea of coming down to a new, low level, lower than Edna’s (Dianne Payne Mayers), their servant. The small house fell in the middle of the stage, breaking everything and scaring most people in the audience. The moment was very dramatic because it showed that the Birlings’ shell had been broken, destroying their social status and their lives. The action was very impressive, rose the tension’s level and surprised the audience.
The atmosphere of comedy was brought on stage by Mrs. Birling
(Sandra Duncan), whose pretensions and expectations went into the absurd and made it melodramatic. This distracted the audience from the message of the play, but in the same time, it made it more acceptable for people whose patience was down to limit.
The atmosphere of comedy was brought on stage by Mrs. Birling
(Sandra Duncan), whose pretensions and expectations went into the absurd and made it melodramatic. This distracted the audience from the message of the play, but in the same time, it made it more acceptable for people whose patience was down to limit.
The way in which Sheila’s dress became dirtier with every exit from the stage was another impressive action which suggested that the girl’s innocence and reputation became dirty. The moment when she remained only with her corset symbolized the new Sheila, the one who realized who was she, accepting and learning from the reality.
The addition of the moment when Eric (Robin Whiting) wanted to hit his mother and Arthur Birling (David Roper) interfered to stop him brought both mother and son on the floor. Also, after Mr Birling received the call announcing the girl’s death and the curtains fell, only Sheila and Eric remained outside, still in the sight of the audience. This underlined the understanding of the situation and position, leaving the audience amazed and impressed.
Overall, the play was really impressive and astonishing. The scene sets, with the doll house, the dilapidated telephone box and the boards of the floor bowing at one end, the wet pavement and the houses at the horizon which looked like real houses had left the audience amazed. The political ideas and messages from J.B. Priestley were not lost though. A crowd of people from the second world war appeared on the stage looking seriously and severely at the Berlings, accusing them for what will happened in the future. The ambitions, award winning, punctilious production of ‘An Inspector Calls’ worth seeing it.
The addition of the moment when Eric (Robin Whiting) wanted to hit his mother and Arthur Birling (David Roper) interfered to stop him brought both mother and son on the floor. Also, after Mr Birling received the call announcing the girl’s death and the curtains fell, only Sheila and Eric remained outside, still in the sight of the audience. This underlined the understanding of the situation and position, leaving the audience amazed and impressed.
Overall, the play was really impressive and astonishing. The scene sets, with the doll house, the dilapidated telephone box and the boards of the floor bowing at one end, the wet pavement and the houses at the horizon which looked like real houses had left the audience amazed. The political ideas and messages from J.B. Priestley were not lost though. A crowd of people from the second world war appeared on the stage looking seriously and severely at the Berlings, accusing them for what will happened in the future. The ambitions, award winning, punctilious production of ‘An Inspector Calls’ worth seeing it.
